No. 20 Football Stays Unbeaten With 31-17 Victory Over Elon

Saturday, March 27

Richmond, Va.

4:00 PM

University of Richmond

3-0 , 3-0

Elon

1-5 , 0-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

ELON

Richmond

Photo by: Stephen Blue

No. 20 Football Stays Unbeaten With 31-17 Victory Over Elon

03/27/2021 | Football

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RICHMOND, Va. – The 20^th ranked University of Richmond football team took a 24-7 halftime lead and cruised to a 31-17 victory against Elon Saturday at Robins Stadium. The victory improves the Spiders to 3-0 on the season in Colonial Athletic Association play and sets up a top-20 battle next week at Robins Stadium when No. 1 James Madison comes to town.

The Spiders produced 450 yards of total offense while limiting Elon to just 234 yards of offense and only 21 yards rushing. Richmond finished with 192 rushing yards thanks to the three-headed attack of redshirt sophomore running back Aaron Dykes (Knoxville, Tenn.), sophomore running back Savon Smith (Winchester, Va.) and redshirt-senior quarterback Joe Mancuso (Blairsville, Ga.).

Dykes finished with 11 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown while Smith had 10 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown. Mancuso carried it six times for 48 yards marking the third-straight game the Spiders have had three rushers over 45 yards this season.

Mancuso finished 21-for-35 for 251 passing yards and two touchdowns in the air. Redshirt-junior Leroy Henley (Pompano Beach, Fla.) finished with a career-high eight catches for 88 yards to lead all receivers. Redshirt-sophomore Isaac Brown (Winchester, Va.) had five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, the Spiders limited Elon to just 1.2 yards per carry and the 30 yards rushing is the lowest total the Spiders have held an opponent to since holding UAlbany to 14 net yards rushing in 2019. Sophomore linebacker Tristan Wheeler (Bethlehem, Pa.) recorded a career-high 14 tackles, including four on special teams and two tackles for loss. Redshirt senior defensive end Darius Reynolds (Yorktown, Va.) led the Spiders with three sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss as Richmond finished with five sacks on the day.

Richmond opened the scoring with a four-play 80-yard drive that resulted in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Mancuso to Dykes making it 7-0. The Spiders forced Elon into a three-and-out on the ensuing possession and quickly extended their lead to 14-0. Smith took the second play of the drive and ran it in from 44-yards out for his first rushing score of the season.

Elon (1-5, 0-3 CAA) answered late in the first quarter on a drive that was extended by a fake punt as Hunter Stephenson completed a fourth-down pass to Jackson Parham for 15 yards. Elon cut the lead to 14-7 after a 40-yard touchdown pass from Justin Allen to Chandler Brayboy just two plays after the fake punt.

Richmond turned in another long scoring drive, going 81 yards on 10 plays taking a 21-7 lead. Mancuso had the biggest play of the drive, rushing for 28 yards on a scramble while freshman Jasiah Williams (Petersburg, Va.) hauled in a 13 yard catch. Dykes capped the drive with a five-yard rush, getting a big push from the Spider offensive line on the score.

The Spiders forced another punt and got points before the half ended on an 11-play, 55-yard drive. Sophomore kicker Jake Larson (Baltimore, Md.) put the Spiders up 24-7 at the half as he converted a 37-yard field goal

Elon narrowed the contest to 24-14 as it took advantage of a Spider turnover. Richmond needed a big drive to swing the momentum back its way and produced a methodical drive that went 75 yards on 13 plays, taking up 7:03 on the clock. Mancuso connected with Henley three times on the drive and also hit Isaac Brown (Winchester, Va.) on a 15-yard strike down to the two-yard line.

The Spiders were held at bay until fourth down when Mancuso connected with Brown on a four-yard score, giving the Spiders a 31-14 lead. Richmond was again able to run out the clock with its ground game down the stretch, preserving its second-straight victory over the Phoenix.

Redshirt sophomore defensive back Tyrek Funderburk (Indian Trail, N.C.) recorded its second career interception in as many games, picking off a third quarter pass. Richmond has posted four interceptions on the season while the Spiders quarterbacks have protected the ball and have not thrown a pick.

--UR--